Chapter 4 Section 56 Striving for Strength

Looking up at the center of the battlefield, the battle has not yet subsided. Suddenly, Koji Yi felt the thorn in his back, looked up to find the end, approaching the center of the battlefield, a cavalry of about 2,000 people, quietly stopped there, the leader rode a high-headed horse, draped in red war cannons, holding sharp spears, his eyes looked at him coldly, and his cold murderous aura rushed like a mountain torrent.

A cold sweat suddenly broke out on Koji's spine: Gao Shun still has a reserve team. It turned out that Gao Shun had already noticed our actions.

Koji Yi suddenly fell into an ice cellar and stood there stiffly, watching Gao Shun slowly raise his spear with a blank gaze.

The sound of the military horn sounded, which was a unique brass horn sound in Liu Bei's army, and when he heard the sound of the trumpet, the thunder horsemen broke away from the battle one after another and gathered under the Gao Shunxu banner - "The last blow?" His hands trembled, and he looked back at the soldiers crowded on the bridge with a desperate gaze.

Koji Yi took a deep breath and looked at Gao Shun with fierce eyes, ready to break the cauldron and fight to the death like a trapped beast.

The thunder rider moved slowly—not forward, but backward.

"They're back," said a soldier on the pontoon, his voice trembling and whimpering in surprise.

Holding their breath for too long, the soldiers on the pontoon bridge came back to their senses and let out a panting sound, which was like the sound of brown paper being pierced, and many porphyries converged as if a loud big stinky fart.

Koji Yi couldn't hold back any longer, and gasped loudly, the voice was like the wail of a wounded beast: "Oh, I see, the thunder rider has also reached the end of the strong crossbow." In order not to let our army find out, Lei Cai must not dare to get too close to our army, his charging route is too long, the armor is too heavy, fighting for a long time, although there is more manpower, but the horsepower is insufficient, seeing that I successfully crossed the river, it is inevitable to fall into a predicament, so I have to lead the army to avoid. Brothers, we held off the charge of the Thunder Riders. ”

The people on the pontoon bridge smiled bitterly, and when they looked up, there was a lot of mourning on the riverbank, rivers of blood, severed limbs and stumps were shocking, corpses were in the river, the river was dyed bright red, and the air was filled with a disgusting smell of blood. The 100,000 army, where the 100,000 army was arrayed, there was no longer a slightly taller object to be seen, and the ground seemed to have been swept away by a tornado, and the situation was terrible - did this also block the thunder cavalry assault?

Koyi gathered the soldiers, crossed the river to attack Gongsun Zhan's 30,000 Yuan Tan army, and could find 20,000 soldiers. On this side of the river, there were less than 20,000 of the 100,000 Koji soldiers, including the lightly wounded, who could still fight. Although the fleeing soldiers kept returning, Koji did not dare to stay at Jieqiao for a long time, and after discarding all the seriously wounded, Koji Yi abandoned Cheongha-gun and retreated to Gwangpyeong-gun. At the same time, a messenger was urgently sent to Yecheng in Wei County to inform Yuan Shao and ask for reinforcements.

After this battle, Gongsun Zhan's army was crippled and unable to fight again. Koji Yi is trapped in Guangping, like sitting on pins and needles. Liu Bei's reinforcements continued to converge on the Qinghe. All the heroes in the north were holding their breath and waiting for Liu Bei to attack again.

In Pingyuan City, Pingyuan County, Liu Bei returned to the county guard mansion again and was warmly welcomed by the people. Those people are like children who have been separated from their relatives for a long time, and returning to Liu Bei allows them to find support again and see hope in life.

It doesn't taste good to abandon people. Yuan Tan entered Pingyuan County, and Liu Bei blamed the people of Pingyuan County for not respecting his orders and resisting Yuan Tan's rule, so for more than a year, he completely abandoned the people of Pingyuan. Yuan Tan was born into a big family, unlike Liu Bei, who started from a commoner and paid attention to the suffering of the people.

Yuan Tan only knew that when there was no food, he would go to the people's homes to get it, and if he had no money, he would go to the people's homes to get it, as if the people of the plains should naturally provide for him. In just one year, the five-year savings of the people of the plains were exhausted. The once rich county is now in ruins. Those who have the ability fled to Qingzhou again (Liu Bei refused to allow the people of the plains to enter Qingzhou directly), and the rest were some of the poorest and helpless people. Now that they are back under Liu Bei's rule, they are all so happy that they burst into tears.

"Your own interests need to be safeguarded by yourself, there will be no pie in the sky, even if the pie falls, it will not fall into your arms, it will not kill you, this pie is still hot, just to make you hungry. All the gains come from their own efforts, I hope that the people of the plains can accept this lesson, even if it is me Liu Bei, if your rights are violated in the future, you should also rise up and resist. ”

Facing several villagers in Pingyuan County who were elected to welcome Liu Bei, Liu Bei coldly threw down a few words and walked into the county hall without looking back.

"Mourn its misfortune and be angry with it. It's time for the people of the plains to reflect. Tian Chou stopped for a while, talked with a few village elders, and then ordered: "A few village elders stay for a while, and the rest of you will immediately go back to the townships and counties." Inform the villagers and prepare to meet the census officials. This year, it is still the usual practice: there is no tax on agriculture, and the tax is offset by military service (blood tax). The seeds and farm tools that are lacking by peasant households in various localities shall be reported by the townships and counties in a unified manner, and the government shall give them credit and repay them in the coming year. ”

Several villagers burst into tears and muttered: "That's that, the old rules of Lord Xuande, we know." ”

Tian Chou hurriedly advised: "In the spring ploughing season, don't miss the farming time, and the idle people will go back as soon as possible." This year, I planted, harvested, and eaten, what are you doing here? Go to work. ”

In the lobby of the Pingyuan County Guard's Mansion, Liu Bei walked in proudly, and Dian Wei followed closely with his sword. Zang Hong was dressed in the official uniform of the Dahan County, holding a tray with one hand, and the bronze seal of the Pingyuan County Guard was placed on the tray, and proudly looked at Liu Bei, who was approaching majestically, and said in a low voice: "Stop, is the Duke of Xuande here to get this seal?" Or, is there also Zang's head? ”

Liu Bei chuckled: "It's just a copper seal, why be nervous." This bronze seal is still cast by me, if you like it, I will cast a few more for you to play. ”

Zang Hong was choked and only rolled his eyes, Liu Bei calmly walked to the seat of the county guard, stretched comfortably, patted the armrest of the chair, and said: "Even this chair is my original, Yuan Tan, this doll, take advantage of my absence, take it without telling me, it is for the thief." ”

Tian Chou happened to come in, and when he saw Zang Hong holding the tray comically, posing without embarrassment, he almost laughed out loud: "Ziyuan (Zang Hong), why is it so funny?" ”

Zang Hong finally found the person who vented, and said with a tray: "Zitai (Tian Chou), you are commenting, this Han County guards the authority, and the plain county guards the copper seal, and your lord actually said that you can cast as much as you want, how can this be reasonable?" ”

Tian Chou casually took the tray, put it on the coffee table in Liu Bei's hand, and pulled Zang Hong to sit down: "Ziyuan, in the busy farming season, the people have no seeds and farm tools, and you still have the leisure to fight with the lord?" You're so relaxed. ”

Zang Hong was at a loss and asked, "Zitai, what do you mean by this?" ”

Tian Chou greeted loudly: "Where is the magistrate of Pingyuan County?" Give it all to me. ”

A shudder sounded in the corridor outside the hall, and a dozen or so old, weak, sick and disabled people cowered into the lobby, and hurriedly bowed their hands to Tian Chou, seeing the former military master.

Tian Chou looked at the dazed Zang Hong and urged: "That one is in charge of the warehouse?" Tell him to bring the ledger book. The one who is in charge of the punishment? Tell him to bring the books..."

Under the urging of Tian Chou, Zang Hong sleepwalked instructing these county officials, Tian Chou counted with his fingers, one county commander and three scribes in the twenty-five counties of Pingyuan County, a total of 100 people.

"Come on, go to the army and call twenty-five actual citizens who have completed their service and passed the citizen assessment, and then call seventy-five Huimin to come. Dian Wei, call a team of guards, wait for me to write the letter, and immediately send the letter to Guangrao. ”

In a moment, in the lobby, chickens and dogs jumped, and everyone was busy. Tian Chou wrote a letter of request for help to the Qingzhou Senate, asking the Qingzhou Senate to allocate spring plowing materials to the plain, and took the letter and urged Zang Hong, "Stamp, stamp." ”

Zang Hong replied embarrassedly: "This broken copper seal does not stain the ink, and I haven't found a way to stamp it yet." After speaking, Zang Hong glanced at Liu Bei hatefully, but found that the chair was empty, and Liu Bei had left without knowing when.

Liu Bei was not there, Zang Hong suddenly felt a sense of relief in his heart, wiped the sweat on his forehead, and gasped heavily.

The seals of the officials of the Han Dynasty were all wooden seals, and it was not until the end of the Qing Dynasty, after the ink was transmitted to China, that officials began to use metal seals. Liu Bei is a trickster, and the officials under his jurisdiction all use metal seals, without ink, and the official seal is equivalent to a waste.

Tian Chou curiously walked to the coffee table, picked up the copper seal, and asked, "When Yuan Tan left, didn't confess?" For more than a year, didn't Yuan Tan use a big seal? ”

If this is the case, although the copper seal is not dusty, the mark is extremely clean.

"No wonder, Yuan Tan's taxation is all for robbery. It's a pity that such a good seal is just used as an ornament for the transfer of power. ”

Looking at Zang Hong, who was red-faced, Tian Chou couldn't bear to say any more, and secretly beckoned the attendant to bring ink.

Zang Hong finally stamped a big seal, held the seal ribbon high, took a long breath, and then came back to his senses: "Why am I here to stamp it?" ”

Tian Chou picked up the long paperweight on the table and gently hit Zang Hong's shoulder: "Ziyuan, I don't understand yet, I'm really a fool." ”

Zang Hong tilted his head and thought for a long time, but was silent.

Tian Chou completely ignored Zang Hong's hesitation, and urged again and again: "Hurry, hurry, there are twenty-five counties in Pingyuan County, one county order for each county, three scribes, a total of one hundred letters of appointment, the names are empty, and the rest, hurry up and write." ”

After a while, a hundred soldiers came in Lala, including non-commissioned officers, lieutenants, and ordinary soldiers. The servicemen entered the hall, automatically lined up, and waited quietly.

After the letter of appointment was written, Tian Chou looked at the soldiers in the hall and asked, "Are you here?" ”

"Yes." The hundred soldiers replied in a low voice, and Tian Chou grabbed the twenty-five county order letters of appointment and said: "Those who have a public name and identity, take out the certificate of the Senate and the service record of the Governor's Mansion, and come forward to receive the certificate of the county order." ”

After a while, after the letter of appointment was issued, Tian Chou said in a deep voice: "They are all people who have passed the assessment, and I won't say much about what local officials should and can't do." If you don't remember clearly, go home and look up the book. One by one, they went to the county guard and added their names and surnames. Then, he picked three Huimin as scribes. Go ahead. ”

After a while, all the people were distributed, and a hundred soldiers gathered in the hall again, Tian Chou asked, "Is the letter seal in your hand complete?" Is the name correct? ”

An officer with the highest rank stepped out of the ranks, put his legs together, and replied with a military salute: "Report to the former military division, the power of attorney (letter of appointment) is still missing two seals." ”

Tian Chou patted his head: "Oh, I forgot about it if I didn't do internal affairs for a long time." In this way, according to the law, the seal of the Governor's Office for the dismissal of military service shall be replaced by the seal of my former military advisor; The seal of the Senate, you go to the lord and let him seal it. After taking office, I will be busy with spring ploughing first, and then go through the procedures after spring ploughing. Use all your skills for the benefit of the people. ”

Flipping through the Tianmu population register, Tian Chou sighed again and again: "This Yuan Tan, how did he become an official?" Pingyuan originally had a population of 170,000, but now there are 30,000 people left, and the population register of this field has not been touched at all. ”

Zang Hong asked curiously: "Lord, what did you annotate back then?" ”

Before the words came out, Zang Hong found that he had uttered the word "lord" in his mouth. After pondering for a long time, Zang Hong let out a sigh and took the book handed over by Tian Chou.

In Dong'e City, East County, Yanzhou, Cao Cao looked at Xun You helplessly and said: "Liu Bei sent 5,000 soldiers and horses to help Zhu Jun, the general of the chariot and cavalry, to establish a defense in Gucheng, and Liu Bei's army transported more building materials to Gucheng than to Luoyang. Liu Bei sent the people to work day and night, using iron bars as bones and mixing clay and lime (Portland cement, known as Sanhe soil in China) to pour the city wall, which was called the Iron Arm City.

Zhu Jun's group of men said that they were defending against Dong Zhuo, and I think they were spying on us. On the wall of Gucheng, on the side facing Chang'an, there are more than 60 large catapults, grappling arms (pulleys with hammers and hooks, used to defend against ladder sieges), and bed crossbows; There are more than 140 defensive equipment facing Luoyang, if he is not aimed at me, why is he so armed? ”

Xun You replied leisurely: "I went to Gucheng and watched their construction. In the past, it was difficult for outsiders to enter Qingzhou, but this time through the construction of Gucheng, I roughly understood Liu Bei's governance strategy. Relying on the strong city fortress as the defense, the people in the city cultivate at sunrise, return to the city at sunset to rest, and if there is an alarm, close the city and hold on.

Most importantly, the city needed to be built on the road, similar to the Qin Dynasty. In peacetime, the city served as a transportation hub for merchants, and collected commercial taxes to compensate the military. During the war, the city was used as a garrison to resist the enemy.

I inspected the local farmers, and according to them, Qingzhou used to calculate the annual income of agricultural taxes, and if a city was fully functional, agricultural taxes would only account for 10% of the total tax revenue, and the farmers were most eager to defend their homeland. The peasants have the most leisure time in the four seasons of the year, and they have the conditions to receive complete military training, so Qingzhou does not levy taxes on peasants, and only requires farmers to perform military service and receive military training in the winter idle season, which is the policy of Qingzhou to hide soldiers and accept military training.

I studied it carefully and found that Liu Bei's governance strategy is not only very reasonable in the military system, but also in these things. Qingzhou's five-year rule did not come out of vain, our army only reformed the military system and adopted Qingzhou's military rule, which is really a pity. I suggest that the lord can choose the Qingzhou policy to follow.

Liu Bei got up in loneliness and poverty, but he started a few years earlier than the lord to have today's situation. The lord's family background is a hundred times better than Liu Bei? When the lord was newly defeated, the money and materials taken out by the lord's family were enough to raise 10,000 soldiers and horses, and now the lord has newly occupied three places, and he is catching up with the materials, money and food of the three places, coupled with the support of the clan, three years of governance, can't he catch up with Liu Qingzhou? ”

(ps: In Western countries, the last to abolish the agricultural tax was in medieval Russia, after Peter the Great abolished the agricultural tax, the population tax and the acre tax were still levied, and it was regarded as an obscurantist country by Europe.) In 2004, 45 per cent of the country's regions abolished agricultural taxes. According to statistics, even if the agricultural tax was fully collected that year, this tax only accounted for 3.14% of the country's total tax revenue. Therefore, the abolition of agricultural taxes was fully sufficient to support national income at that time. ）

Cao Cao thought about it for a moment and replied: "If you want to completely abolish the agricultural tax, you must expand the collection of commercial taxes. In order to balance taxation, it is necessary to adopt a practice that encourages merchants, so it is necessary to implement the Contract Law and the Fair Trade Law. We must increase the scope of trade with Qingzhou. ”

is worthy of Cao Cao, this is the first generation of traitors in the Three Kingdoms era in history who did not care about the old system and old ideas. It is said that in later generations, the tombs of the ancestors of the Cao family unearthed in Anhui were engraved with four words "the sky is dead" on the tomb bricks. It seems that Cao Cao is quite proud of burying the old system and system of the Han Dynasty. No matter how shocking Liu Bei's policies seemed at the time, once the interests were determined, Cao Cao did not hesitate to use them.

"Anyway, the sage often said: The king regards the minister as a pig and a dog, and the minister regards the king as an enemy. If the rulers do not respect the property and interests of their subordinates, how can the people live in peace? The so-called saying that the whole world is not the king's land is nothing more than the statement that the subordinates are like pigs and dogs, and that the property of the subordinates is their own property.

The Contract Law and the Fair Trade Law require respect for the people's labor income (property), and require that transactions be conducted in accordance with the established order in accordance with the principle of fairness - since Liu Bei pays attention to fairness, why am I afraid that he will deceive?

Gongda, you immediately study the Contract Law and the Fair Trade Law one by one, and I will not implement the provisions that are too excessive. In the case of transactions with Qingzhou merchants, in line with the principle of priority of the place where the transaction takes place, once a dispute arises, the local government adopts uniform laws and conducts trials.

In addition, since we are vigorously developing commerce, the three counties of Yanzhou also implement the principle of agricultural tax. Liu Bei's five-year reign turned Qingzhou into an arsenal. If we want to surpass Liu Bei, we must step up the tuntian system and encourage the circulation of merchants.

I decided that after the spring sowing, I would take advantage of the farmers' leisure time to purchase cement from Qingzhou with the money and grain materials supported by the four sides, and repair the roads and gallop roads between the cities to facilitate the circulation of goods and the mobilization of troops.

Gongda, you and Brother Zhicai immediately inquired in many ways to see what other strategies Qingzhou had for the benefit of the people and the country, and also enabled our Yanzhou to develop rapidly. We have three years of savings, three years of preparation, three years of training, and a period of ten years, and I will compete with Liu Bei. ”

In Pingxiang City, Julu County, Jizhou, Gongsun Zhan packed up the remnants of his troops and stationed in this small border town on the border with Guangping County, and he froze.

The fall of the elite white horse righteous servant of Youzhou Iron Cavalry hit Gongsun Zan deeply. When the troops were dispatched, the power that swept through Zhongshan and Julu County made Gongsun Chan often boast of being the guide for Liu Bei to enter the army. However, in the battle of Jieqiao, when it was in danger, it was all up to Liu Bei's subordinates to rescue him, which made Gongsun Chan indignant. The many persuasions of his subordinates and Liu Beijun's many contacts, Gongsun Zhan ignored them and drank all day long to relieve his boredom.

Gongsun Zhan ignored his greetings, and Liu Bei was embarrassed to go into battle shirtless and directly helped him attack Yuan Shao, so he had to stay in Pingyuan City sullenly, watching Tian Chou and Zang Hong busy with boredom.

"Zitai, my third corps is stationed in Pingyin, the Thunder Cavalry Legion (Gao Shun), the Wolf Cavalry Legion (Tai Shici), the Second Legion (Zhang Fei) and the Left Cavalry of the Guards Legion (Huang Zhong) enter the Qinghe, the Jieshi Corps enters the Bohai River, and the Violent Bear Legion (the combined forces of various tribes) and the remaining part of the Guards Legion are stationed in the plain.

The newly occupied three counties of Qinghe, Bohai and Hejian were not easy for our army to make moves because of the endless battle between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao. Since Gongsun Chan has no intention of starting a fight, how can we break this deadlock? ”

Tian Chou replied with a smile: "Has the lord forgotten the new people from Jizhou?" In my opinion, Geng Wu and Guan Chun are more than loyal and righteous, and their martial arts and talents are insufficient. Zhao Fu has both talent and ambition, and dares to challenge Yuan Shao's authority. Cheng Lian, the golden mean.

These four people originally belonged to Han Fu's old generals, and they were divided into three groups to govern the three new counties, and no matter Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zhan, or Han Fu, they had nothing to say. As long as they are properly distributed, these four people originally defected to the lord, and no matter who they will be assigned to in the future, they will always have their hearts set on the lord. As long as we slowly infiltrate with the Qingzhou system, whoever is the pastor of Jizhou will not be hindered. ”

Liu Bei nodded and said: "Zhao Fu has both ambition and bravery, and can be the county guard of Hejian; Geng Wu and Guan Chun only have loyalty and courage to be the Bohai Sea positive and negative county guards, there are rivers and Qing rivers in front of them, and behind them is Zhang He's Jieshi force circle, and I only use their loyalty and courage to control the Bohai Sea; Cheng Lian, a middle-of-the-road man, took up the post of Qinghe County Guard, sandwiched between the rivers and the plains, Gao Shun can be stationed in the rivers or retreat to the plains, he can protect the Qinghe, but these three counties still need a person in charge of the overall management, Zitai, can he be withdrawn, can someone recommend? ”

Tian Chou snickered: "Did the lord forget?" The two people you recovered from Jingzhou, one literate and one martial, happen to be able to rule the three counties. ”

Liu Bei suddenly said: "Yes, these two people are enough to rule the three counties, but how should Gao Shun's people be dispatched?" Move forward, or backward? ”